Arcade game with keypad input

ABSTRACT

An arcade game that has a numeric keypad for entering telephone numbers is disclosed. After a telephone number, or other unique number is entered into the keypad, default settings for the player are retrieved from a database. The default settings can relate to the type of car driven, type of track to use or whether automatic or manual shifting is preferred. Once the play of a game has been completed, the database is updated with any new preferences selected by the player. In addition, game statistics, such as the number of miles completed, number of laps completed and best lap time are stored to the database.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No.09/267,240 filed on Mar. 12, 1999.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention generally relates to game systems and, moreparticularly, is concerned with inputting player information for arcadegame systems.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] Video arcade games are a technology providing a certain degree ofuser feedback. Arcade games are typically placed in public areas such asarcade halls, theaters, airports and other areas where the users canoccupy time and entertain themselves by playing the game. Video Arcadegames utilizing video displays have been around for some time now,beginning with the simplistic game of bouncing a ball across a line withpaddles known as “Pong”. However, with the passage of time, video arcadegames have become ever more sophisticated and realistic.

[0006] In many senses, the arcade game called “Hard Drivin'™”,manufactured and distributed by Atari Games Corp. of Milpitas, Calif.,represents the state of the art in arcade game realism. The physicallayout of the game includes clutch, brake and gas pedals, a gearshiftand a steering wheel. The player, or driver, is provided feedbackresponse from a video display having a three-dimensional graphicalrepresentation of the driving environment and from a speaker whichgenerates realistic sounds of driving. A digital processor, comprising anumber of microprocessors and a memory, is the interface between theplayer inputs and the feedback response.

[0007] Conventional arcade games allow players to input their names orinitials into the game through several cumbersome methods. For example,in some games, players are asked to spell out their names or initials byturning a steering wheel. As the steering wheel is turned a pointermoves along a row of letters. The player uses the steering wheel to movethe pointer to the desired letter and then presses a gas pedal to addthat letter to previously chosen letters. As can be imagined, thismethod is time-consuming for the player, especially if they have a longname.

[0008] While some conventional arcade games store statistics related toa player's performance, the games do not store preferences for eachplayer. Examples of player preferences are, for example, in a drivinggame, the type of car, type of transmission and type of view. Thus,every time a player begins a new game, his preferences have to beentered. This is a time-consuming process that slows down the game play,and leads to lower revenues for the game operator. Companies that makearcade game systems rely on players being able to quickly enter andstart each game. If a player has to spend a lot of time entering hisname, the total earnings for the machine are reduced since fewer playerscan use the game every hour.

[0009] Some more recent games have been linked through dedicated datalines so that players in physically distant locations can play oneanother. However, these linked games do not store preferences for eachplayer. Thus, a player of a linked game that normally plays in LosAngeles cannot go to San Francisco and have his preferencesautomatically set at the beginning of the game. These games are normallyonly linked so that each player can see each other during the game.

[0010] Consequently, a need exists for a simple, easy to use mechanismfor players to enter their identities and preferences into an arcadegame. The present invention provides a system for meeting such a need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] One embodiment of the invention is an arcade game that includes asystem for rewarding players that have reached a predetermined goal.This embodiment includes: a keypad configured to receive an alphanumericcode from a player; a player database that receives the alphanumericcode and retrieves stored player statistics; a first memory configuredto receive the stored player statistics and determine whether any of theplayer statistics have reached a predetermined goal; and a second memoryconfigured to provide a reward to the player if the player statisticshave reached the predetermined goal.

[0012] Another embodiment of the invention is a method in an arcade gamefor rewarding players that have reached a predetermined goal. Thisembodiment includes: receiving alphanumeric code from a keypad of anarcade game; comparing the alphanumeric code against a player databaseto retrieve stored statistics on the player; determining whether any ofthe stored statistics have reached a predetermined goal; and providing areward to the player if the stored statistics have reached thepredetermined goal.

[0013] Yet another embodiment of the invention is an arcade game thatincludes: means for receiving alphanumeric code from a keypad of anarcade game; means for comparing the alphanumeric code against a playerdatabase to retrieve stored statistics on the player; means fordetermining whether any of the stored statistics have reached apredetermined goal; and means for providing a reward to the player ifthe stored statistics have reached the predetermined goal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one preferred embodiment of a networkof arcade game machines.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one preferred embodiment of a controlsystem for an arcade game.

[0016]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a processfor registering a player.

[0017]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a processfor storing data to a player database in an arcade game.

[0018]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a timerprocess for storing keypad data to a buffer.

[0019]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a processfor determining whether data stored in a keypad buffer is ready to bematched against data in a player database.

[0020]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a processfor granting rewards to a player.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] The present invention relates to systems and methods for enteringand tracking player's usage of arcade games. Of course, it should beunderstood that the term “arcade game” as used herein is meant broadlyto encompass any type of game system that interacts with players. Forexample, one preferred type of arcade game is a conventional drivinggame that includes a steering wheel, gas pedal, brake and transmissionshifter. Other types of games can be for example, golf games, shootinggames or action games.

[0022] In one embodiment of the invention, a keypad is provided on thegame that accepts input from a player. In use, the player enters hisunique identification number into the keypad. Instructions in the gamecompare the unique identification number against a stored database ofplayers. Once a match for the unique identification number is found inthe database, the player data corresponding to that identificationnumber is loaded into the game. The data can be statistical orpreferential in nature.

[0023] Preferential data can be, for example, the type of track, type ofcar, preferred transmission setting (manual or automatic) or preferredview of track (bumper, inside car, above car). Thus, after the playerhas entered his identification number, default preferences are thenloaded into the game so that they do not need to be chosen.

[0024] Statistical information can include such data as the total milesdriven, number of wins against human players, number of games played,best lap time per track and best overall time per track. This data canbe displayed to the user before, during, or after the game has ended.For example, in one embodiment, an odometer can be shown the playerduring a car driving game to indicate the total number of miles that theplayer has driven. This total number would be accumulative for all ofthe games played on the machine. It should be noted that while thisembodiment relates to a single game it should be understood thatmultiple games can be linked into a network so that a player can enterhis identification number on any game in the network to receive hispreferences and statistics.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the keypad resemblesa touch-tone pad on conventional telephones. By using this design, youngplayers can more naturally be taught to enter a unique number, such ashis 10-digit telephone number. If a player enters a number that is notstored in the player database, the system will query the player to enterhis name or initials. Thus, a youthful player can simply enter his phonenumber, and then be queried to enter his name or initials. This processis described more completely with regard to the following figures.

[0026] In one embodiment, the player's name or initials can be enteredin a manner similar to conventional arcade games wherein the steeringwheel and gas pedal are used to select alphanumeric symbols that appearon the game screen. Of course, other embodiments wherein the playerenters his name through another mechanism, for example, a keyboard, arealso contemplated.

[0027] In another embodiment of the game, each player can be tracked byhis unique identification number so that “rewards” can be offered toplayers that reach certain preset goals. For example, after a player hascompleted more than a predetermined number of laps around a track, hecan be rewarded by gaining access to special game features. For examplea special car, unique car color, or other indicator of his achievementcan be displayed and activated in the game. This type of reward is veryattractive to players so that they can demonstrate their prowess toother players. Of course, this can become very important to a player ona distributed game system wherein other players only know of each otherby reference to the types of car that they are driving.

[0028] This invention is not limited to only arcade games that relate todriving games. Other games, such as golf or action games, are alsocontemplated. For example, a reward system can be similarly implementedinto a golf game wherein a player that completes a round of golf with apredetermined score gains access on his next game play to a particularreward. The reward might be, for example, a unique club set, or a clubthat drives the ball with more accuracy than the conventional club set.

[0029] Reference is now made to the drawings wherein like numerals referto like parts throughout.

[0030] As discussed below, embodiments of the system are not limited tostand-alone games, but are meant to be incorporated into a network ofgames that communicate through data channels, such as telephone lines.As shown in FIG. 1, two or more game units 16 at different locations maybe linked for real time interactive play. These game units may includeone or more game units from each of a plurality of groups of arcades 10,here designated as arcade 1, 1 through arcade 1, n and arcade n, 1through arcade n, n. The arcades of arcade group 1 are linked, throughrespective T-1 lines to a first or metro hub 12 here designated as theSan Francisco (SF) hub. Similarly, the arcades 10 of group n are linkedby T-1 lines to another first or metro hub, here designated as the LosAngeles (LA) hub. Each arcade includes a plurality of the game units 16which are operatively coupled with an arcade router (R) 18. Additionalgroups of arcades coupled to additional metro hubs may be added withoutdeparting from the invention.

[0031] A number of the metro hubs 12, 14, etc. may be coupled bytelephone data lines, such as T-1 communication lines, to a regionalcenter 20. Similarly, one or more of such regional centers 20 may becoupled by T-1 lines to a super-regional center 22 and one or moresuper-regional centers 22 may be coupled by T-1 lines to a nationalcenter 24. Communications resources other than T-1 lines could be usedwithout departing from the invention, such as fiber optic or other highbandwidth resources, preferably at T-1 or higher capacities.

[0032] Eacg metro hub 12 and each of the centers 20, 22, 24 is similarin that it includes a router (R) 30 and a server (S) 32. The servers 32implement bandwidth management as described later herein in fartherdetail. Generally speaking, each of the servers 32 at the metro hubs 12,14 monitors the bandwidth usage on the T-1 lines between the metro hub12, 14 and the various arcades 10 which are linked to that hub via theseT-l lines. This is referred to herein as downstream bandwidthmanagement. In upstream bandwidth management, the servers 32 monitor thebandwidth usage on the T-1 line between the associated router and thenext higher level as shown in FIG. 1, and control access to therespective T-1 lines. This is known as upstream bandwidth management.

[0033] Advantageously, the arrangement of routers and servers asillustrated in FIG. 1 is such that a player at an individual game unit16 in any arcade may engage in real time interactive play with otherplayers at other game units in other locations, whether in the samearcade or in a different arcade. These players may be in differentarcades served by the same metro hub, or may be in locations which areultimately linked by a regional, super-regional or a national centerthrough the intervening centers and hubs. Advantageously, the bandwidthmanagement and state synchronization aspects of the invention makepossible real time interactive play which is perceived by individualplayers as being substantially simultaneous play. This is done in such amanner that, regardless of the locations of the several players, theperception of each player is essentially as if the other players werelocated immediately adjacent to one another in the same location orarcade.

[0034] While the invention is described herein with reference to videogame units in an arcade, it will be understood that the invention isapplicable to game units of other types as well. For example, thenetwork of the invention may be utilized to link home video games,whether played on stand-alone units through game controllers that linkto ordinary TV sets or for games that are played on personal computers(PCs). Any of these game units, if provided with suitable hardware andsoftware for accommodating networking operation, could be linked to thenetwork described above with reference to FIG. 1.

[0035]FIG. 2 illustrates a game unit 100 that includes severalsubsystems, as is known in the art. For example, conventional arcadegames include a display system 104 for displaying high resolution, threedimensional images to a screen. The display system 104 communicatesthrough a bus 106 to a CPU system 110. The bus 106 can be in the form ofany conventional data bus, but is preferably a peripheral componentinterconnect (PCI) bus as is well known in the art. The CPU system 110includes a processor such as a Quantum Effect Design, Inc. R7000processor or any other well-known processor such as those provided byMotorola, Hitachi, Intel or IBM.

[0036] The CPU system 110 communicates with an input/output system 114through a local bus 116. The local bus 116 is preferably a 32-bit localbus that provides data communications between the CPU system 110 and theinput/output system 114.

[0037] Within the input/output system 114 is an I/O connector 120 thataccepts inputs from peripheral devices. In one embodiment, the I/Oconnector 120 is a Japanese Amusement Machine Manufacturer's Association(JAMMA) connector. This type of connector is well-known in the art ofarcade games and provides an interface for determining whether aperipheral event has occurred. For example, in many arcade games, aJAMMA connector is used to determine whether the start, fire, up, down,left or right buttons have been pressed by a player during a game play.

[0038] Attached to the I/O connector 120 is a series of column lines 122a-c that come from a keypad 124. The column lines 122 a-c act as inputsto the I/O connector 120, as explained below. In one preferredembodiment, the keypad 124 resembles a standard telephone touchpad. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, the keypad 124 includes buttons for numerals 0through 9 along with the pound (#) key and asterisk (*) key. In oneembodiment, the keypad 124 is a model DC-3020-00 dial pad from DynacomCorporation (South San Francisco, Calif.).

[0039] A series of row lines 126 a-d coming from an I/O connector 130 ona motor amp system 134 also connect to the keypad 124. The row lines 126a-d connect to outputs on the I/O connector 130 and drive signals to thekeypad 124. The motor amp system 134 communicates with the input/outputsystem 114 through a bus 136.

[0040] The motor amp system 134 is used within the arcade game toprovide feedback to a player. For example, if the system indicates thatthe player is about to go over a bump in the road, the motor amp system134 sends a signal to the steering system (not shown) that causes it toshake, emulating that a bump has been traversed.

[0041] In the implementation illustrated in FIG. 2, the motor amp system134 provides the outputs for communicating with the keyboard 124. Itshould be understood that it is not necessary to use the outputs fromthe motor amp system 134 to drive signals to the keypad 124. Forexample, the integrated input/output system 114 could be provided withsufficient outputs to drive signals directly to the keypad 124 andbypass the motor amp system 134.

[0042] As will be discussed in more detail below, instructions runningon a processor in the CPU system 110 cause one or more of the row lines126 a-d to be driven to a high state. Other instructions running theprocessor then look at the state of the column lines 122 a-c todetermine if they are asserted to a high state. If any of the buttons onthe keypad 124 are pressed, the row and column lines corresponding tothat button are connected. Thus, if the “0” button is pressed, the rowline 126 a will be connected with the column line 122 b. By analyzingwhich row line is asserted and which column line is being driven high,the system can determine which button is being pressed. The functions ofthe keypad 124 within the system of the invention are described morecompletely in reference to the following figures.

[0043]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the process 200 for registering aplayer into the game system. The process 200 begins at a start state 204and then moves to a decision state 206 wherein a determination is madeof which button has been pressed to initiate the registration process.It should be noted that this process can be undertaken at any timeduring the game. Preferably, the process is undertaken at the beginningof the game, as the player first walks up to begin to play. Normally,the game will display a series of images attractive to players, andmight include sounds or other effects for grabbing a player's attention.

[0044] A label on the game can indicate that a particular button, forexample the view button, should be depressed to enter a dedicated screenfor gathering a player's information. Thus, if a determination is madeat the decision state 206 that the view button has been pressed, theprocess 200 moves to a state 208 wherein a dedicated screen is presentedto the player requesting that his unique identification number beentered into the keypad 124.

[0045] As will be discussed more completely below, the preferable uniqueidentification number for the player is his 10-digit telephone numberbecause it is easy to remember and simple to type into the telephonictype keypad 124. Once a player has entered his phone number into thekeypad at the state 208, the process 200 moves to a state 220 wherein adetermination is made whether the phone number entered is recognized bythe system. This decision is based on a search of records stored withina player database in the game unit 100. It should be realized that thedatabase of names and telephone numbers can be stored within any type ofmemory in the game unit.

[0046] For example, the database can be stored on a hard disk,electrically erasable programmable read only memory EEPROM), randomaccess memory or other well-known medium for storing data. In addition,the database can be stored on a hard disk and then loaded into therandom access memory of the game system as the machine is initiallypowered on. In this manner, the data is securely stored on a hard disk,but is available within the faster RAM to decrease the access time. Ofcourse, new data entered by users would be saved from the RAM to thehard disk so that if a power failure occurred, the data would be safelybacked up on the hard disk.

[0047] It should also be noted that the player database could be storedin a different location than the current game unit being played. Forexample, in a wide area network of game units such as described in FIG.1, the player database could be stored in a central server and accessedthrough dedicated data lines to the local game system.

[0048] If a decision is made at the decision state 220 that the phonenumber entered at the state 208 was recognized, the process 200 moves toa state 226 wherein the name of the player is displayed on the screen.The process 200 then moves to a state 230 wherein the stored preferencesand statistics for the player are copied into the game system tooverride the normal default settings. Thus, the player having theentered identification number is entered as the current player in thesystem and the previous player settings are erased. It should be notedthat at the state 226 wherein the name of the player is displayed, theplayer can be given the option of changing his name if necessary.

[0049] If a determination is made at the decision state 220 that theidentification number is not recognized, the process 200 moves to astate 234 wherein a new record is created in the player database, andthe player's name is entered. In one embodiment, the player enters hisname into the system by turning the steering wheel to cause the image ofa pointer on the screen to move below a list of letters. Once thepointer appears below the desired letter, the player presses the gaspedal to select that letter to be entered into the system. After theplayer has selected all the letters for his name or initials, theidentification number and name of that player are entered into the newrecord in the player database.

[0050] Once the player's name has been collected at the state 234, theprocess 200 moves to the state 230 wherein the default selections madeby the new player are saved to the database in the game unit. Thus, oncethe player has entered his telephone number and name into the system,the system tracks the preferences set by the player in every game. Thesepreferences can include the type of track preferred, car preferred, orview preferred.

[0051] It should be noted that other default settings in addition tothose listed could also be stored to the player's record in the playerdatabase. Every time the player plays the game from this point forward,his default preferences and statistics will be saved to the playerdatabase and automatically retrieved once his telephone number isentered into the keypad.

[0052] Returning to the decision state 206, if a determination is madethat any of the buttons on the keypad are pressed prior to the viewbutton being pressed, the system collects the phone number entered inthe background at a state 240. This process will be described morespecifically with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 below. Thus, if a playersimply walks up to the machine and types in his phone number, a decisionwill then be made at a decision state 245 whether the phone number isrecognized. If the phone number is recognized, the process 200 movesimmediately to retrieving the player's default preferences andstatistics. These settings are then used to set the defaults for thecurrent game in the game unit. Thus, this provides a very rapidmechanism for the player retrieve his default settings from within thedatabase from the game system. In addition, if the player decides toplay an additional game on the same machine, a special button such asthe “#” key can be pressed to retrieve the updated settings of thecurrent player. Of course, a time-out feature would be associated withthis function so that a player cannot simply walk up to a machine, press#, and thereafter affect the statistics of the previous player.Preferable time-outs could be five, ten, fifteen or twenty seconds afterthe game ends.

[0053] If a determination is made at the decision state 245 that thecollected phone number is not recognized, the process 200 moves to thestate 208 wherein a dedicated screen is displayed to collect therequired information, such as name, from the player.

[0054] Referring now to FIG. 4, a process 250 for entering data into theplayer data base within the game system is described. The process 250begins at a start state 252 and moves to a decision state 254 wherein adetermination is made whether the game is over. If the game is not over,the process 250 continues looping until the game is over. Once the gamehas finished, the process 250 moves to a state 256 wherein the totalmiles driven during the current game are added to the total milesalready stored for the player.

[0055] The process 250 then moves to a state 258 wherein the total lapsdriven during the current game are added to the total number of lapsalready stored in the database for the player. The process 250 thenmoves to a decision state 262 wherein a determination is made whetherthe current fastest lap time for the current game is less than thestored lap time for the player. If the fastest lap time in the currentgame is less than the stored lap time, the process 250 moves to a state268 wherein the fastest current lap time is stored to the player database. The process then terminates at an end state 270. However, if thebest lap time during the current game is not less than the lap timealready stored for the player, the process skips state 268 and movesdirectly to the end state 270.

[0056] It should be noted that the type of information stored to thedatabase, as indicated in FIG. 4, is only exemplary. Other statisticsfor the player can be stored to the player database without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. Such other information might includethe number of plays per day, number of plays during a certain time ofthe day, and other statistical information that can be used to generaterewards for the player. Moreover, in non-driving games, statisticsrelated to golfing, wins or other parameters of the game can be stored.

[0057] Referring now to FIG. 5, a timer process 300 for determiningwhether a button has been pressed on the keypad 124 is illustrated. Thetimer process 300 begins at a start state 302 and then moves to a state304 wherein a first row line from the I/O connector 130 to the keypad124 is asserted. As can be seen upon reference to FIG. 2, the I/Oconnector 130 connects to the keypad 124 through a series of row lines126 a-d. At state 304, the first row line 126 a is driven to a highstate.

[0058] The timer process 300 then moves to a state 308 wherein each ofthe column lines 122 a-c are read. The timer process 300 then moves to adecision state 320 wherein a determination is made whether any of thecolumn lines 122 a-c are active. As discussed above, if a button waspressed on the keypad 124, a connection is made between the column lineand the row line. Thus, if row line 126 a is asserted, and the “0” keyis pressed, the column line 122 b will be asserted and can be detectedby instructions in the I/O system 114. In this manner, one can determinewhich button has been pressed on the keypad by knowing the currentlyasserted row line and the currently asserted column line.

[0059] If a determination is made at the decision state 320 that none ofthe column lines are active at the I/O connector 120, the process 300moves to a state 322 wherein the next row line 126 b is asserted. Ofcourse, the first row line 126 a would be de-asserted at the same timethat the next row line 126 b becomes asserted. The timer process 300then returns to the state 308 to read the inputs from the keypad 124.

[0060] If a determination is made at the decision state 320 that one ofthe column lines is active, the process 300 moves to a state 326 whereinthe number pressed on the keypad 124 is determined. Once a determinationof the depressed number is made at the state 326, the process 300 movesto a state 328 wherein the number depressed on the keypad is stored intoa memory buffer. Of course, in alternate embodiments, the numberdepressed can be immediately stored to a permanent memory such as a harddisk without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0061] To summarize, the timer process 300 sequentially asserts each ofthe row lines 126 a-d while analyzing if any of the column lines 122 a-care asserted. Through analysis of which column line 122 a-c is asserted,the timer process 300 determines which key, if any, has been depressedon the keypad 124. Preferably, the timer process 300 only takes a fewmilliseconds to complete one cycle through each potential key press.Accordingly, if a key is pressed for only a very short duration, thetimer process 300 will detect this action and store the appropriatenumber to a memory buffer.

[0062] In one preferred embodiment, the timer process 300 is written inthe “C” programming language and compiled using a Gnu C compiler (FreeSoftware Foundation, Boston, Mass., www.gnu.org). The timer process 300is then executed on a Quantum Effect Design, Inc. (www.qedinc.com, SantaClara, Calif.) R7000 processor located in the CPU system 110. However,one skilled in the art of computers will recognize that many othercomputer languages and computers, including pluralities of each, may beused to achieve the same result.

[0063] Referring now to FIG. 6, a process 350 of indicating when data isready to be read from the keypad buffer is illustrated. The process 350begins at a start state 352 and then moves to a state 354 wherein akeypad input flag is set to false. The keypad input flag is used toindicate to the game control software that a unique identificationnumber is ready to be matched against the data base of users storedwithin the game machine. The process 350 then moves to a state 358wherein the data in the keypad buffer is read.

[0064] A determination is then made at a decision state 362 whether anydata in the keypad buffer corresponds to the pound (“#”) sign. In apreferred embodiment, the pound sign can be pressed by the player toindicate that his unique identification number is shorter than aten-digit telephone number. For example, the player's identificationnumber might be “1-2-3-4-5.” In this manner, the user can press thepound sign to indicate to the game control system that the uniqueidentification number is ready to be matched against the database ofplayers stored within the game system.

[0065] If a determination is made that the pound sign was not pressed atthe decision state 362, the process 350 moves to a decision state 364wherein a determination is made whether there are ten characters in thekeypad buffer. If ten characters are in the key pad buffer, the process350 moves to a state 368 wherein the keypad input flag is set to true.The process then ends at an end state 370. However, if the pound signwas pressed, and thus part of the data in the key pad buffer at thedecision state 362, the process 350 immediately sets the keypad inputflag to true at the state 368.

[0066] If a determination was made that the pound sign had not beenpressed, and that there were less than ten characters in the key padbuffer, the process moves from the decision state 364 back to the state358 wherein additional data is read from the buffer.

[0067] To summarize, the keypad input flag is used to indicate whetherdata entered on the keypad 124 is ready to be matched against the playerdatabase stored within the game unit 100. Thus, once a uniqueidentification number, followed by the pound sign, or a ten digittelephone number have been entered, the key pad input flag is set totrue. If less than ten digits have been entered into the keypad, and thepound sign has not been pressed, the system continues monitoring thekeypad input buffer until such a time that the pound sign or ten digitsappear within the buffer.

[0068] Referring now to FIG. 7, a process 400 of granting rewards to aplayer is illustrated. The process 400 begins at a start state 402 andthen moves to a decision state 404 wherein a determination is madewhether the keypad input flag has been set to true. If the keypad inputflag has not been set to true at the decision state 404, the processcontinues looping until the key pad input flag is set to true. Once thisflag has been asserted, the process 400 moves to a state 410 wherein thedata in the keypad input buffer is read and stored to a variable. Theprocess 400 than moves to a state 416 wherein the data retrieved fromthe keypad input buffer is matched against a player database so thatinformation on the player can be retrieved. As discussed previously,data is stored for each player for every game that is played. Forexample, once a player completes a game, the statistics relating to thatgame are added to the players database so that the database isconstantly updated with new player information.

[0069] For example, once a player has completed a game, the number ofmiles driven during the current game can be added to the total milesalready stored for that player. In addition, the players lap time can becompared against a stored lap time to determine whether the player hasimproved in this game. If the player has improved during this game, thenew, faster lap time is stored to the player's record in the database.

[0070] Once the player's information has been retrieved from thedatabase at the state 416, the process 400 moves to a decision state 418wherein a determination is made whether a preset goal has been reached.There can be several preset goals identified in the game system. Forexample, one goal might be a particular number of miles that must bedriven. Thus, once a player has driven a predetermined total number ofmiles, this goal is reached. Other possible goals are a particular, veryfast lap time or a total number of games played. If a determination ismade that the preset goal has not been reached, the process 400 sets thekeypad input flag to false at a state 420 and clears the keypad inputbuffer at a state 422 before returning to the decision state 404.

[0071] However, if a determination is made that the preset goal has beenreached, the process 400 moves to state 424 wherein an appropriatereward is determined. Appropriate rewards might be, for example, thegranting of the right to use a special car within the driving game.Other rewards might be a unique paint color or other indicator to otherplayers that a preset goal has been reached. This might be particularlyattractive on a wide area distributed game wherein players are indifferent physical locations. Thus, one player could indicate to otherplayers that he has reached a particular preset goal by possessing aunique car, for example. The process 400 then moves to a state 430wherein the appropriate reward is granted to the player by way ofdisplaying the car, or offering particular colors, or any other meansfor indicating that the player has reached a predetermined goal.

[0072] In one embodiment, the player can be provided with additionalweapons or features not commonly available to other players once thepredetermined goal has been reached. The process 400 then moves to astate 436 wherein the key pad input flag is set to false and the processthen ends at an end state 440.

[0073] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen principally shown and described as relating to arcade games, thepresent invention could also be used as a vehicle simulator such as adriver training system.

[0074] While the above detailed description has shown, described andpointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied tovarious embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated may be made by those skilled in the art, without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An arcade game that includes a system forrewarding players that have reached a predetermined goal, comprising: akeypad configured to receive an alphanumeric code from a player; aplayer database that receives the alphanumeric code and retrieves storedplayer statistics; a first memory configured to receive the storedplayer statistics and determine whether any of the player statisticshave reached a predetermined goal; and a second memory configured toprovide a reward to the player if the player statistics have reached thepredetermined goal.
 2. The arcade game of claim 1 , wherein thealphanumeric code is a 10 digit telephone number.
 3. The arcade game ofclaim 1 , wherein the keypad is in the format of a telephone keypad. 4.The arcade game of claim 1 , wherein the arcade game is a car drivinggame.
 5. The arcade game of claim 4 , wherein the predetermined goal isselected from the group consisting of: a total number of laps driven, atotal number of miles driven, a total number of games played and aspecific lap time.
 6. The arcade game of claim 4 , wherein the playerdatabase is stored in a memory within the arcade game.
 7. The arcadegame of claim 1 , wherein the player database is stored on a servercomputer attached to the arcade game through a data link.
 8. The arcadegame of claim 1 , wherein the player database is stored remotely fromthe arcade game and accessed through a data link.
 9. The arcade game ofclaim 8 , wherein the data link is a telephone T-1 line.
 10. A method inan arcade game for rewarding players that have reached a predeterminedgoal, comprising: receiving alphanumeric code from a keypad of an arcadegame; comparing the alphanumeric code against a player database toretrieve stored statistics on the player; determining whether any of thestored statistics have reached a predetermined goal; and providing areward to the player if the stored statistics have reached thepredetermined goal.
 11. The method of claim 10 , wherein thealphanumeric code is a 10 digit telephone number.
 12. The method ofclaim 10 , wherein the keypad is in the format of a telephone keypad.13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the arcade game is a car drivinggame.
 14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the predetermined goal isselected from the group consisting of: a total number of laps driven, atotal number of miles driven, a total number of games played and aspecific lap time.
 15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the playerdatabase is stored in a memory within the arcade game.
 16. The method ofclaim 10 , wherein the player database is stored on a server computerattached to the arcade game through a data link.
 17. The method of claim10 , wherein the player database is stored remotely from the arcade gameand accessed through a data link.
 18. The method of claim 17 , whereinthe data link is a telephone T-1 line.
 19. An arcade game, comprising:means for receiving alphanumeric code from a keypad of an arcade game;means for comparing the alphanumeric code against a player database toretrieve stored statistics on the player; means for determining whetherany of the stored statistics have reached a predetermined goal; andmeans for providing a reward to the player if the stored statistics havereached the predetermined goal.
 20. The arcade game of claim 19 ,wherein the alphanumeric code is a 10 digit telephone number.
 21. Thearcade game of claim 19 , wherein the alphanumeric code is in the formatof a telephone keypad.
 22. The arcade game of claim 19 , wherein thearcade game is a car driving game.
 23. The arcade game of claim 22 ,wherein the stored statistics comprise the total number of times thatthe player has played the game.
 24. The arcade game of claim 22 ,wherein the stored statistics comprise the total number of miles drivenby the player.
 25. The arcade game of claim 22 , wherein the storedstatistics comprise the fastest lap time for the player.
 26. The arcadegame of claim 19 , wherein the means for comparing is selected from thegroup consisting of: a Random Access Memory, an Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) and a hard disk.
 27. The arcadegame of claim 19 , wherein the player database is stored in a memorywithin the arcade game.
 28. The arcade game of claim 19 , wherein theplayer database is stored on a server computer attached to the arcadegame through a data link.
 29. The arcade game of claim 19 , wherein theplayer database is stored remotely from the arcade game and accessedthrough a data link.
 30. The arcade game of claim 29 , wherein the datalink is a telephone T-1 line.